Clock.



W. E. PQRTBR. GLOGK.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 11, 19 07.

if OZJ I WILSON E. PORTER, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT,

ASSIGNOR TO NEW HAVEN CLOCK '00.,

OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

CLOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Yatented Feb. 18, 1908.

Application filed November 11' 1907. Serial No. 401.699.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VILSON E. PORTER, a citizen of the United Stat-es,residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State ofConnecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Clocks; and Ido hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to bea full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which saiddrawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in-

Figure 1 a view in rear elevation of a clock provided with myimprovement. Fig.

2 an enlarged broken view thereof in side elevation. Fig. 3 a brokenview of the same in vertical section. 4 a detached view in rearelevation of the bearing-ring and signalwheel. Fig. 5 an inside view ofthe same parts. Fig. 6 a detached view in rear elevation of thesetting-wheel. Fig. 7 a detached view in inside elevation of the cut-outwheel and the setting-wheel.

My invention relates to an improvement in that class of clocks thestriking mechanism of which is designed for signal purposes rather thanto measure the time, as, for reminding a nurse when to give medicine andthe like, the object of my present invention being to provide a clock ofthis character with mechanism whereby the signal bell may be varied inits frequency as desired.

With these ends in view my invention consists in a clock having certaindetails of construction and combination of parts as will be hereinafterdescribed and pointed out in the claims.

In carrying out my invention as herein shown, I mount upon theprojecting rear end of the center arbor 2 a hub 3 upon which I stake awheel 4 which, for want of a better term, I shall call a signal wheel.This wheel 4 is formed with fourcorresponding arms 5 equally separatedfrom each other by wide notches 6. Pins 7 mounted in the arms 5 supporta graduated bearing ring 8 containing characters 1, 2 and 4 locatedadjacent to radial index lines 9, 10 and 11. Under this construction aspace 12 is formed between the ring 8 and wheel 4, this space beingentered by the finger 13 of a count hook 14 which is mounted upon theprojecting rear end of an oscillating shaft 15 carrying the hammer tail16 of a hammer 18 of any ordinary hammer mechanism. hen the finger 13 ofthe hook 14 is free to enter each of the four wide notches 6, in thewheel 4, a signal will be sounded once in fifteen minutes for the reasonthat the wheel 4 makes one complete revolution once an hour. To vary thesignal I employ a cut-out wheel 19 having arms 20, 21 and 22separated bydifferential spaces 23, 24 and 25 increasing in width in the order inwhich they are numbered. The said wheel 19 is enough smaller in diameterthan the internal diameter of the bearing ring 8 to pass through thecentral opening of the same into the space 12 so as to be brought withinthe range of the finger 13 of the count hook 14, the said fingerreaching rearward through the notches 6 of the wheel 4 so as to engagewith the periphery of the wheel 19 as well as to drop into the spaces23, 24 and 25 thereof. The said wheel 19 is staked upon the inner end ofa knurled sleeve 26 carrying a setting wheel 27 having a radial indexline 28 for coaction with the index lines 9, 10 and 11 aforesaid.

The wheel 27 is a trifle larger than the inner diameter of the ring 8 sothat its outer edge rides upon the inner edge thereof when the wheel 27is turned by gripping the outer end of the sleeve 26 which is knurled asat 29 for this purpose. By rotating the wheel 19 upon'the ring 8 so asto cause its index line 28 to coincide with either one of the indexlines 9, 10 and 11, it is apparent that the arms 20, 21 and 22 and thedifferential clearance spaces 22, 24 and 25 will be changed in theirrelations to the arms 5 and notches 6 of the signal wheel 4. Thus if theindex line 28 is brought to coincidence with the line 10 adjacent to thecharacter 1, the notches 6 will with one exception be blocked by thearms 20, 21 and 22 so as to permit the finger 13 of the count hook 14 tofully enter but one of the notches 6. This will limit the signals to onesignal for every revolution of the wheel 4, or in other words, to onesignal in an hour. By turning the cut-out wheel 27 to bring the indexmark 28 into coincidence with the index mark 9 adjacent to the character2, the wheel 19 will block two of the notches 6 leaving only two free tobe fully entered by the finger 13. This will give two signals duringeach hour. By turning the wheel 27 to bring the index line 28 intocoincidence with the index line 11 adjacent to the character 4, the arms20, 21 and 22 will be positioned so as to leave the four notches 6sufficiently open for the entrance into them of the finger 13 of thecount hook 4. In this adjustment of the parts a signal will be givenonce in fifteen minutes. Of course by varying the construction of thesignal wheel 4 and the cut out wheel 19 the length of time elapsingbetween the signals may be varied.

In order to hold the wheel 19 in place after it has been set, I locate aspiral spring in the hollow outer end of the sleeve 26 and put thisspring under tension by means of a knurled finger-button 31 provided atits innerend with a flange 32 which rests upon the outer end of thesleeve 26, the button 31 also having a shoulder 33 entering the outerend of the sleeve and being furnished with a threaded stem 34 enteringthe hub 3 which is mounted, as aforesaid, upon the projecting rear endof the center arbor 2. The stem 34 is threaded from right to left sothat by turning the finger-button 31 from rightto left the center-arbor2 may be turned for setting the signal-wheel 4 with respect to thefinger 13 of the count hook 14. By grasping the knurled portion 29' ofthe hub 26 the same may be rotatedin either direction against thetension of the spring 30 so as to bring the indeX line 28 intocoincidence with any one of the index lines 9, 10 and 11 according tothe frequency which it is desired to have the bell ring. The turning asdescribed of the cut-off wheel 19 by the hub 26 in no wise disturbs theposition of the wheel 4 which will only be changed by grasping andturning the finger button 31 which corresponds to the time-settingbutton of an ordinary clock. 4

For the purpose of shutting off the signal altogether, I employ a switch35 hung upon a pin 36 and at its inner end arranged to engage with thecount hook so as to hold the same entirely away from the wheels 4 and19.

I claim:

1. In a variable signal clock, the combinationwith the center arborthereof, of anotched signal wheel connected with the said arbor forrotation thereby, a bearing-ring carried by the said signal-wheel with aspace between the two wheels, a cut-out wheel provided with arms anddifferential notches, entered into the said space between thesignal-wheel and bearing-ring, a count hook coacting with the signal andcut-out wheels, and a set ting-wheel connected with the cut-out wheelfor rotating the same and bearing upon the bearing-ring upon which it isrotated to position the said cut-out wheel.

2. In a variable signal clock, the combination with the center-arborthereof, of a signalwheel connected with the rear end of the said arborfor rotation thereby, a bearing-ring connected with the signal-wheel,rotating therewith and separated therefrom by a space, a cut-out wheeladapted to be entered through the said ring into the said space andformed with arms and differential clearance spaces, a setting-wheelbearing upon the said ring, a sleeve carrying the said cut-out wheel andsetting wheel whereby they are rotated independently of the signal-wheeland ring, a spring for holding the setting and cut-out wheels againstrotation, and a finger-button connected with the arbor for rotating thesame.

3. In a variable signal clock, the combination withthe center-arborthereof, of a hub mounted upon the projecting rear end of the same, asignal-wheel mounted upon the said hub, a bearing-ring supported by thesignal wheel from which it is separated by a space, a cut-out wheelentered into the said space through the said bearing-ring, a sleevecarrying the said cut-out wheel, a setting-wheel carried by the saidsleeve and bearing upon the outer face of the said ring, a springlocated within the sleeve for frictionally holding the setting-wheelagainst rotation with respect to the bearing-ring and signal-wheel, anda finger-button formed with a stem entering the outer end of the saidhub for turning the center arbor, the said spring being placed undertension by the saidfinger-button.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presenceof two subscribing witnesses.

WILSON E. PORTER.

Witnesses:

GEORGE D. SEYMOUR, CLARA L. WEED.

